Guidance for industry

Good environmental management is consistent with good business management. Consistent with the waste hierarchy, both aim to maximise the efficiency of raw material usage, while minimising the consumption of energy, water and other inputs.

Sound environmental management helps to achieve triple bottom line (environmental/social/economic) benefits.

Controlling wastewater discharges

Industrial and commercial operations that can discharge significant amounts of wastewater to the environment are controlled by EPA's works approval/licensing system. The works approval and licensing system ensures that EPA reviews proposed works before they are constructed and, when they are brought into service, discharges are controlled by licence conditions.

EPA uses works approvals and licences to ensure that industry minimises waste generation and only discharges treated wastes after all waste avoidance and minimisation options have been implemented.

Recycling wastewater

Recycling wastewater can ease the pressure on our water resources and avoid the need to discharge wastewater to the environment. Recycled water can provide a defined quantity and quality of water that, with some management controls, is suitable for a wide range of uses including irrigation and toilet flushing.

With increasing legislative and community expectations for sustainable development, there is increased interest in treating and recycling sewage. For more information on safe and sustainable wastewater recycling refer to the following guidelines:

• EPA Publication 464.2 – Guidelines for Environmental Management – Use of Reclaimed Water (PDF, 1235KB or 1.2MB)
• EPA Publication 1015 – Guidelines for Environmental Management: Dual pipe water recycling schemes - Health and environmental risk management (PDF, 576KB)
• EPA Publication 887.1 – Supply of Reclaimed  Water for Drought Relief
• DHS Guide for the completion of a Recycled Water Quality Management Plan for Class A water recycling schemes
• Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling: Managing Health and Environmental Risks (Phase 1)

Biosolids

A by-product of the sewage treatment process, biosolids (appropriately treated sewage sludge) can make an important contribution to sustainable environmental management. They can be used to return organic material, trace elements, moisture and nutrients to our soils - thereby completing the natural nutrient cycle. More on land application of biosolids (PDF, 576KB)

Where appropriate, land application is the preferred reuse option for reasons described above. However, where land application is not appropriate, biosolids can be used as a substitute for raw materials as geotechnical fill. More on using biosolids as geotechnical fill (PDF, 653KB)

Biosolids can also be used for alternative purposes (for example, energy recovery), however these schemes need to go through the works approval and licensing process

For more information on biosolids refer to the Australian and New Zealand Biosoilds Partnership website

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Environmental guidelines

EPA has developed guidelines to advise industry about good environmental practice and prepared business sustainability case studies on the benefits provided by resource efficiency:

• Using tankers to supply reclaimed water for drought relief
• EPA Publication 500 – Code of Practice for Small Wastewater Treatment Plants (PDF 1489KB or 1.5MB)
• EPA Publication 570 – Environmental Guidelines for the Dairy Processing Industry (PDF 315KB)
• EPA Publication 621 – Environmental Guidelines for the Textile Dyeing and Finishing Industry (PDF 245KB)
• EPA Publication 628 – Environmental Guidelines for the Concrete Batching Industry (PDF 135KB)
• EPA Publication 691 – Guidelines for Dredging (PDF 792KB)
• EPA Publication 730 – Guidelines for Environmental Management – Disinfection of Treated Wastewater (PDF 198KB)
• EPA Publication 1287 – Wastewater discharge risk assessments (PDF 784KB)

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